The masters course in Mountain Forestry a global contribution

Transcription

1 The masters course in Mountain Forestry a global contribution Georg Gratzer, Program coordinator Institute of Forest Ecology, BOKU University

2 Phento Tshering, Director General for Department of Forests & Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Bhutan Hanna Watzl, Head of the Climate School, Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

3 Christina Delaney, Wildfire Crew Member at Parks Canada Dr. Abrham Abiyu Hailu, Head of Forest Research Centre, Gondar, Ethiopia

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5 Since 2002: 160 students from 25 countries

6 Why dealing with mountains and mountain forests?

7 Why dealing with mountain forests Mountain rap: 24% of the worlds land surface are covered by mountains 25% of the world s forests are in mountain regions 28% of the worlds closed forests are in mountain regions 1/8 of the world s population in mountain regions

8 Why dealing with mountain forests BUT: 90 million mountain people live in poverty (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005) 90% of mountain people live in rural areas in developing countries % of population malnourished < insufficient data Source: Glenn Hyman, CGIAT-CIAT, using information from the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC) and the National Development Council (CONADE), Ecuador

9 Where do we find mountain forests? On land which is / was unsuitable for agriculture 3% of the areas with good or high suitability for agriculture occur in mountain regions Areas of high forest cover tend to be characterized by a high poverty rate (but low poverty density) (Sunderlin et al. 2008) Image: G. Heidorn

10 Why dealing with mountain forests Mountain forests are frequently coined poverty traps: poor infrastructure, less market access frequently protected restrictions for management poor political participation and representation Higher number of conflicts

11 Why dealing with mountain forests 25 out of 34 of the world s biodiversity hotspots are situated wholly or partially within mountains regions Half of the protected areas in the world are in mountains

12 Image. G.Glatzel

13 Why dealing with mountain forests More than half of the world s population relies on the fresh water that accumulates in mountains % of the freshwater is from mountains (Viviroli et al. 2007)

14 Message 1: Mountains and mountain forests are of overproportional global importance They are often poverty traps

15 Education and poverty alleviation The Education Index: Africa Latin America and the Caribbean Asia Europe Oceania Northern America 0.938

16 Education and poverty alleviation Education pays off Lutz et al. 2008

17 Message 2: Education works Education in sustainable management of mountain forests provides a lever for increasing sustainability and reducing poverty.

18 Mountain forestry why BOKU? Fodder collection in the Alps Lopping in the Alps

19 Mountain forestry why BOKU?

20 Mountain forestry why BOKU?

21 Mountain forestry why BOKU?

22 Mountain forestry master curriculum Mountain Forestry a sustainable, science-based management of forests and woodlands in mountain areas, taking specific ecological, ethical, technical, social, economical and political conditions of complex mountain systems into consideration

23 Mountain forestry master curriculum Objectives of the study program provide a focused and specialised education in managing mountain forest resources with a global perspective teach students to recognise and solve problems that occur in forest management and conservation in mountain regions strengthen interdisciplinary approaches in mountain forestry, integrate aspects of engineering, socioeconomics, natural sciences and other subject-specific fields in mountain forest management

24 Mountain forestry master curriculum Mountain Forestry MSc. Technology and Engineering Natural sciences Economic and Social sciences, Law

25 Mountain forestry master curriculum Contents

26 Mountain forestry master curriculum conclusions The mountain forestry master curriculum: has trained students from 25 countries, many of which are among the poorest countries does not cause brain drain in the source countries but has a return rate of more than 90% has more than 90% of alumnis working in their field of expertise maintains an information and exchange network with the alumnis

27 Check: /ife/mountain-forestry/ Thank you for your attention

28 Mountain forestry master curriculum the alumnis 29% 7% GO NGO National Park PhD not home country 58% 4% 2%

29 Ecosystem Services of Mountain forests: Provisioning services Timber Compared to Forests in lowlands, mountain forests have: lower increments Higher harvesting costs Less infrastructure Lower profitability But: working income per hour or day achieved in forestry often exceeds the respective level of agriculture (e.g.by factor 2.7 in Austria, Sekot 2008) - Hence, mountain forestry provides a lucrative alternative / addition to mountain farming

30 Why dealing with mountain forests Spiritual and aesthetic values Recreation